Fountains of 'Ween

Fun-size treats to trick out the most hallowed of holidays.

by Daniella Wexler

[ spooky, scary ]

In Philadelphia, you could easily celebrate Halloween every weekend in October. And if you wanted, you could bank on staples like Eastern State Penitentiary's Terror Behind the Walls and the Halloween Festival in Fitler Square to fill up your calendar. But it's fun to step outside the box, so we've gathered a cauldron full of haps that could've easily slipped under your spook-dar. Now all you need is a costume.

We've all lost our wits in a haunted house or two, but not many of us can say we've been aboard a ship occupied by zombies and anxiety-wreaking mermaids. Based on a tale by Revival Burlesque regular Max Guerin, Big Ship of Horrors revolves around the ghost of Captain Fishsticker — with a little strip-tease action thrown in for good measure. Guests will be ushered around the 177-foot-long horror craft by Lara Croftish: Ghost Hunter, who'll try to protect you with her fierce burlesque skills as you cross the bow, galley and pilothouse full of all kinds of scary-ass shit. You better hope the ghouls have an affinity for boo-bies. Oct. 27-31, 8-10 p.m., $20, Tall Ship Gazela, Columbus Boulevard and Market Street, 800-838-3006, gazela.org.

Travel back to the 1920s at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Jazz Age masquerade party, a festive take on its weekly Art After 5 Series. Performances include vintage jazz and swing by Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society, tap dancing by Gin Minsky and a decadent, days-gone-by dance party with Dances of Vice. When you're not fox-trotting in Great Stair Hall, peruse some of the museum's eerier paintings, like Rousseau's Carnival Evening or Salvador Dali's Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War). Costumes are half the fun, so make sure to don your best flapper dress or your most ridiculous van Gogh sunflower. Fri., Oct. 29, 5 p.m., free with $16 admission, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-684-7506, philamuseum.org.

The first-ever Old City Halloween tour presents an ideal outing for families. Hosted by Trust Gallery, the neighborhood-centric event happens in two parts. First, spend the morning decorating trick-or-treat bags with your kids while they nibble on historic treats from Franklin Fountain. Later, keep your eyes peeled for the orange balloons directing you to candy-toting businesses, like the Betsy Ross House, and the J. Karma and Three Sirens boutiques. Oh, and don't forget to dress up your dogs and cats: There're costume competitions for tots and furry friends alike. Sun., Oct. 31, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., $20, Trust Gallery, 249 Arch St., 215-592-8400, oldcityhalloween.com.

Cyborg One Comics owner James Frazier is throwing a three-part Halloween soiree to celebrate a new television series based on the popular comic book The Walking Dead. Fittingly, it all begins with a zombie crawl. Participants will meet at the store for touch-ups (fake blood, creepy makeup) before making trick-or-treat rounds to Baked on Main, Doylestown Bookshop and Siren Records. The "surreal mob of shambling zombies" that Frazier anticipates will end up at the County Theater for a 9:15 p.m. screening of Night of the Living Dead, hosted by horror magazine Fangoria. When the movie wraps up, Doylestown crawlers can calm their nerves with a nightcap at Maxwell's on Main. Sun., Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m., $5, 44 E. State St. rear, Doylestown, 215-348-1451, cyborg1.com.

(daniella.wexler@citypaper.net)